Line tension indicating and measuring apparatus



Sept. 7, 1943. c. A. MATHEY LINE TENSION INDICATING AND MEASURING APPARATUS Filed June 19, 1959 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 ,7 7 6 9 88 7 0 47 6 6 0/ 0 7 52M 0 0 l 6 8 7 0 I 9 5 I I! 7 X- a 2 a 6 7 v w J 1v 3 I ,4 5 8 0 7J0 J \\lv 0, 7 0 W 4 0 T 4 5 903 a m. J @05 a v 4 5 w/ a J 6 m 1 w x mm y "M B .T

IN VENTOR (fiesfer A Ma we BY 4 TTORNE Y sept- 1943- c. A. MATHEY 2,328,658

LINE TENSION INDICATING AND MEASURING APPARATUS Filed June 19, 1939 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 IN VENTOR C/Iesfer /7. Maf/ze BY "A TTONE y Patented Sept. 7, 1943 i LINE TENSION INDICATING AND MEASURING APPARATUS Chester A. Mathey, Tulsa, Okla. Application June 19, 1939, Serial No. 279,805

Claims. (01. 2s5 1 .e) I

This invention relates to a line tension indicatin'g and measuring apparatus adapted for determining depths and/or locations of instruments in bore holes such as oil wells, together "with weight indications of instruments on the line for aiding in judging the character of media through which the instruments pass or with which such instruments come in contact.

The principal object of the present invention is to provide a highly efiicient, conveniently arrangedand relatively economical combination measure meter and weight indicator.

Other objects of the present invention are to so arrange the indicating elements of the apparatus that they maybe conveniently simultaneously observed; to increase extent of contact between the apparatus and the line for preventing slippage therebetween; to increase the effective angular contact between the measuring element of the apparatus and the line for enhancing accuracy of weight and distance measurements; to so arrange the weight and distance indicating elements relative to each other that the accuracy of each is not adversely affected upon actuation of the other; to prevent overloading the weight indicating portions of theapparatus; and to provide improved elements and arrangements of them in the structure of a durable apparatus of this character. a

In accomplishing these and other objects of the invention, I have provided improved details of structure, the preferred forms of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings,

wherein .Fig. l is a perspective View of a combination measure meter and weight indicator, embodying the features of the inventionfand showing the apparatus applied to a line which actuates the apparatus. l

Fig. 2 is a. front elevational view of the apparatus shown in Fig. 1. v v I Fig. 3 is an endelevationa'l view of the apparatus, particularly illustrating the convenient arrangement of indicating elements relative to each other.

Fig. 4 is a front elevational view showing the efiect of a weight on the line for. actingon the apparatus to actuate the weight indicating element.

Fig. 5 is a plan view. of the weight indicator.

Fig. 6 is a vertical central section through the apparatus substantially on the line 6 6, Fig. 2.

Fig. 7 is a horizontal section through the apparatus substantially on the" line 1-1, Fig. 4'.

measure meter and Fig. 8 is a detail perspective view of the 'measure meter and weight indicator, the parts thereof being shown in spaced disassembled relation to'ea'ch other. 1 I l Referring "more in detail to the drawings:

I designates a frame which is preferably of substantially triangular shape having diverging legs 29 and 32 which are provided at their apex and terminal ends with hubs 2, Sand l having v substantially centrally disposed apertures'therein for receiving the shanks of headed belts or similar retaining devices 5, 6 and T, which are retainedin the hubs by suitable fastening devices, such as nuts 8. a a

5 Each of the bolts is provided with bearingpor' tions' 9 Fig. 8, on which a measuring wheel lll, and tension wheels II and I2 are rotatably mounted at the rear side of the frame 1 relative to Figs. 1, 2 and 8. Y

' The-preferable arrangementof the wheels Ill to i2 relative to each other is such that the tension wheels'l'l and ii! are adapted to have a line l3 passed over the Wheels in grooves it and of adjacent-portions of the wheels H and t2, as'shown in full lines in Fig. 1 and in dotted lines in Fig. 2. The arrangement of the measuring wheel it relative to the wheels ll and His such that the line l3 may be passed over portions of the wheel W'remote from the adjacent portions of-the wheels H and [2 which are engaged by the line r a The desired effect of this arrangement is that the line is drawn around more than one-half of the circumference of the measuring 'wheel' l0 and a greater frictional'engagement of theli'ne with the wheel l0 'thus results, which makes movement er the wheel l0 positive in response "to movement'of the line.

In order to register movements of the measuringwheel l9, it. is provided. preferably on its inner surface, with a concentrically arranged gear wheel I6, the teeth I! of which have meshing engagement with the teeth H! on a pinion 1-9. The p inion l9 isprovided with an axial driven shaft 20, Fig. 8,which is operatively connecited'with a suitable registering element or length of line metering device 2| in'a housing '22, the registering element being provided with asuitable setting apparatus 23. I l

order tosupport theregistering element, the housing 22 therefor is provided with a base 24, which is fixed to an outwardly extending 'fiange', 25 of an angle bracket, the other flange ,26 of whichextends laterally ofthe flange 25.

The flange 25 is provided with an aperture adapting it for engagement upon the shank of the bolt 5, the nut 8 of which retains the angle bracket in desired position for aligning the pinion I9 in meshing relation with the gear wheel l6.

It has been found desirable to provide a guard 21 for the gear Wheel lfi'and pinion I8, which guard is preferably in the form of a metal plate having one end 28 thereof secured to the leg 29, Fig. 2, of the. frame, as by a fastening device 30, the othfefnd 531*; Fig; 8, of the guard.,being mountedon the leg 32 f theframe'by a fastening device through the guard and an aperture 33 in the frame leg 32.

In order to support the measuring apparatus the frame I is provided with a forwardlylzprojecting hub 34, which may be mountedpn ajgusset or like plate 35, the hub 34 having an aperture therein for passing a headedtbo-ltfcr,thelike 36. A standard 31 is provided with an apertured boss 38 engaged with the threaded end of the'bolt' 35,- ,which boss. mayube secured-in position pnthe ibo t byia wash r-t a d fa t inad v c .suc .asianutiiflt-theboss being ran ed: to al wp otal movement of the measuring apparatusmelative;.the r,et oi If: desired,.th e;standard;31 may be ,mqlmted in; a socket; or the like; 4+, which. socket may. rsu po te z lay-s t bl b m mb .1 ,thersoc et a d se-memb r be hownn d t- ;ted lin s in F Withs the-construction .thus-v far described, it is Y am re t-thatwhen adin r s" placed or th e d d through adjacent portions: of the wheel l l and .lilandover remote portions of; the wheel in, movements of the line relative :t otl e wheels cause; the measuring. wheel I ,0. to. move ;for actu- 1 ating'. the registering. element or meteringdevice tl ktovgive-aztrue measure of the length of line .nass d verthe h l It is sometimes desirable to. positivelyaid' the i ea -3 5. en e ;themeasurinawheel-HL and to this; end, the frame I is provided with an up- ..ward y e tendi a m 41 having al u 4 a i upper end provided with! an aperture-iorqreceivingthe' shank of a: bolt orthe like 45; E'inger e ements and M av s n u d :b s s .and..43=:o the inner. adiac nd h reo a mounted enthebolt-Adat the rear end. of ,the ,hub {Mend-washers, or the like maybeinter- .msedah ween th hub and we ured b s h stinger elements, washers and b0ss.-,being held in desired relative position by a head on' the bolt and suitab esfast nine d vice'fii Mounte on u eaendsao wthe fin e sl msnt d a 41 .n e h -aa srtute bos s? an 4. n fitne s elle -zbemermeunte Q nthe in:mqte bl vmsi ie t eree ge su tabl -manher, as by headed bolts itgngiastenineedevices eq e mafia eneieme et nd b i eh I i ie i e 1eiiee eai-le w en i r h .e -i e th for opposite ends of a spring 62. It is apparent, then, that the spring 62, when applied to the set screws, and the finger elements being pivotally mounted on the bolt 45, the spring 62 tends to spread the brackets 56 and 51 apart, and the rollers into frictional engagement with the line on the wheel I0.

As above noted, it is contemplated that the Measur n de ic bg ria ihi inv n have incorporated therein devices cooperative with the devices for measuringth'e length of line which are capable of efiiciently registering the weight of the line and/or an instrument on the line for ,thepurposeof indicating the character of media throughfwhich the instrument is passing.

. Incarrying out this feature of the present invention, the leg designated 32 is provided with ja hinge'lomt including an apertured boss 63' which is adapted to pivotally connect with terminalend-G l of the leg 32.

I fier e 1901mm; i rrevi with a e w ,sea dlascriu e besss lia an -5 i tive. Wheels.

ar ush r ar -bq' i -9 sit 146 s dee s a It M be ng ma t re sh-th apertures of; the. bosses as shown in Fig. 1. The

i e e ih t m na -c e th wn s h Ql :d w w rdl tee enfli i acs-r t orti n 63, hQ QWen endI Qf I whic i -sr idsdw t zan- I other apertured boss 1 Attention, isgdir ected v to the fact that the axis oflthe. hinge jointris' substantially near the peripheries fLthe: wheels I I] and I I so that movement of thewheelllirelative to the hingejoint does not materiallychange thele xtent of;

Th -hee s i e ant e l mi a t h b9 4 1 is: .prr ivi ded onlthe terminal of. the 2& o ffl the frame, which boss is. providegiwith alug. or. foot ,portion 12' and apertured boss .73 atdtaldwenend similar to the footvportionmfifi and boss 591cm the leg DQrtion 15.4. of the-frameu The; lug. or foot portions' 68. and 12 ,are. prefer.- ablyjsplit fromtheirllowervends. to apoi'nt adja- ,cent. the bosses- 3 1 and, 6, as. indicated .at. 1.4; for

' ,pas sing. -ears:.Ifiifanldf .16 between. the inner and :outersurfaces. thereof ,asiclearlyshowniinlig. 3.

Headed jbolts. orsi rnilar iasteningdevicesifmay thenlble provided .for pivotally, mounting ,tha ears 15' and is" in the lug or foot portions of itlie lleg .rnernbers. I l shown in, Fig. A the ears: l i'an di ,Uagareo'rersn q vs e e d wi ear in h 's lawn a rosin; the .rodjbeins Suitablymounted; with the housing and being provided with a. D

. .aititsend remote from theear 16. Acoi l'spmng iiflle .pred term e d t n h r lat n 9 .0 Jth work it "is to do is mounted on 7the .rod 9 beefs st ne et th h adfi e at'l fi .[r end on' the apertured end wall 82" of lt liejg ouse nsla- I l It is thus'apparent that when weightisapplied to one end ,of the ,line 1 3. the i-l ine being; applied it? he m a u i ap a a us th w es li rq s for spreads relative to the other .wheels a'g'ainst tension of the spring 81. 7 a

In ,order to make. this structure effective. for indicating or measuringathe amountqofiweight ,Qn the line, the terminal. portion 64 isprovided at its upper end with an arm 83 directed in a ownward and left handdirection relativeto the leg member 6'4; Figs. 2and 4. I M

I Theendof. the. arm 8 3 is providedwith a-ypke w hii e a eebl z b utwql e .5 extendi er l e 3 e a dlvimma r ere T W #1 9 qfil' em i fi re mis ro ides lin sn a me wit t h e-spew iwithan ap'ertured bossi88 adapted to bemounted on the shank ofa headed, bolt or the like'89,the inner threadedend of which bolt is adapted for threaded engagement in the threaded aperture of'a boss Siiextending outwardly from the lower surface of the frameleg 29. adjacent .the upper inner end of the boss 3, as clearly shown in Fig.18. 9| designates a scaledevice having suitable 'indicia 92 on the upper arcuateiface 93'thereof for representing, for example, pounds inweight of the line and aninstrument on the.line.. The body member 9| of the indicatingidevice :is PTO.

tvided with a supporting bracket ill'preferably the end of the poin'terlies over the .izero indicia ,of' the indicating device and whena weight is applied to the line andthe wheel]! is: spread against tension of the spring 8!, as shown in Fig. 4, the pointer is moved alongv the indicating device to a point thereon proportionate to the amount of weight applied to the line, as shown inFigJl."

While an apparatus constructed as described 'is effective for efficiently measuring both the length of the line and the weight appliedto the line, it sometimes happens .that when excessive weights are applied, such weights damage the measuring apparatus.

A safety device is therefore provided to protect themeasuring apparatus, which preferably consists of an elongated "plate 98' having an aperture 99 at one end thereof engageable with one of the bolts H securing the ears l and HMO the foot members of the frame and having an elongated aperture or slot I00 adapted to be fitted over the other bolt [1101 allowing limited pivotal movement of the complementary leg member 64, as shown in Figs. 1 and 4 respectively.

The operation of a measuring apparatus con structed as described is as follows:

A line extending from a reel or the like, not shown, as in conventional practice, may be threaded over the inner periphery of the wheel H, the outer periphery of the wheel Ill and the inner periphery of the wheel [2, after which the end of the line remote from the reel may be secured to a suitable instrument to be lowered into the bore hole, for example, of an oil well. Upon lowering the instrument into the well, frictional engagement of the line with the wheels causes the measuring wheel [0 to move and the gear wheel and pinion to move therewith to actuate the length of line metering device 2!. Since the line engages the major portion of the periphery of the wheel I 0, and more than on-half of the circumference thereof, slippage of the line relative to the wheel is prevented, and an accurate actuation of the length of line metering device results, with a consequent accurate indication of the actual length of line paid through the measuring apparatus or over the measuring wheel. The rollers on the finger elements also enhance frictional engagement between the line and the measuring wheel due to their resilient mounting on the frameand their spring-caused tendency-to-force the line downwardly.

Due to engagementof the line at the extremi- I ties of the horizontal diameter of the measuring wheel, and also contact of the line with the inner extremity of the horizontal diameter of the pivotally mounted wheel 12; it is apparent that weight on the line [3 tends tostraighten the line between. these'pointson the wheels III and I2 to thuspmove the wheel! to the-right, as in This tendency of movement in the wheel. [2 acts on the terminal 64. of the leg 32 and causes it to pivotoutwardly on thebolt IOI. Outward and upward pivotal movement of the terminal 64 causes downward movement of-the yoke 84 on the arm 83 and downward pivotal movementof. the pointerarmi 86, thelaterallyturned end 91. of which pointerarm is moved a distanceidownwardly over the indicia bearing face of theindicatin'g device 9| a distance correspondingto the weight on the line I3. 1

It is further apparent that the weight on the line is indicated simultaneously with registration of the lengthof line paid through the apparatus and that, due to the. arrangement of the indicating device and registering elements relative to eachother, change. in weightincidental to the buoyant action of the well fluids on the instru-'- ment being run into the well can be noted by the position of thepointer and the 'length of the line, paid out between changes of the position of the pointer, this distance 'being the depth of media through which the instrument is passing.

Should the weight or pressure "become excessive on the line*,the spring are ccm ress'edro its limit, and the bolt 11 on the foot portion are: the

leg terminal 64 rides to the outer limit of the elongated slot I00 where it is stoppedb'ythe end of the plate 98 and thus prevents damage to the measuring apparatus. k

Some of the advantages of a measuring ap paratusconstructed 'in' accordance with thisinvention are that accurate 'measurements of weight and distancemay be made regardless (if slack on the line or the angle of the instrument and of the line relative to the measuring apparatus. The "several measuring devices in theorganization do not affect the accuracy of the others and the apparatus cannot be overloaded. A material convenience is also worked in the arrangement of the measuring devices proper relative to each other, which permits an operator to observe both indications simultaneously and with no greater effort than when observing one indication.

What I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. An apparatus for measuring the load on a line of the character described including, a frame having triangularly diverging legs, a wheel having fixed rotational support at the apex of said legs, a pair of line tension wheels having pivotal support on the terminal ends of said legs, a hinge joint in one of said legs whereby one of the tension wheels is adapted to move to and from the other, means yieldably connecting the terminal ends of said legs including a spring housing connected with one of the legs, a rod slidable therein, a spring on the rod, a lever connected with said hinged leg and movable responsive to movement of the hinged tension wheel, a pointer having pivotal connection with the other of said legs and connected with and movable by movement of the lever, and a scale cooperating with the ioointer'fonindieating relative-imovement ot said hingedly mounted tension wheel res'ponsive' 1 to ull of the iine when-the line i's' it'ensioned :over adjacent-faces or thetension wheelsiiandiaround thelfirst' namedawheeh t 1'25 An: apparatussloiomeasurfn'gf tha mad-ism line ofthesc'haraicter' deseribedwinludingg a frame haviingifltriangularly' diverging l'e'gs, iatwh'eel: Ehaving fixed rotational.v support; at-the- :apex'ttofrssaid 1388;?3. npairiof. line'rtensionnvheels havm -zpivotal support on the terminal ends of said legs, a'ihing-e jdirit in one of z'saidtlegs whereby omen of lthfiin sionrwheels as adaptedf:tomovei to randzfrnmethe other; means 'yie'ldably connecting itheterminal ends:= rdf: saidzle'gs itoriyield'ahly irestriain am'ovement tension rwhels" carried by the base; extremities of the'r-frame and*arranged in substantialtra'dial symmetry with" respect-to *theifirst namedxwheel', means mounting-ones of thei tension wheels :o'n the frame-LI ormovementabout an axis substantially registering with-the perimeteriof thevfi'rst named wheelgwan d the -perimeter; ofv the tension wheel which isw-mountedsbysaid means whereby-said pivotal, movement; has substantiallynno effect on the extenteof; the line when the line is engaged with said-wheels, meansfyieldably' connecting the movahlymounted tension wheel withsaidframe tazyieldably; restrain movement--of said z'movabl-y mounted tension wheel from -thev-othertension wheel, anduindicatingtmeans -.'for indicating; relative --movement -of.-=said -movabl'y mounted tension WheeL-responsive to pull. of the line-'tensioned over adjacent faces of the tension wheels and around the first inamedsw-heeli 1 .4..An apparatus for measuringthe,loadson a line of: the character described inoluding, a trie'gnzs raas anginar 'frame; a 'wheel having fixed rotational with respect'to' the'caxes of thetensionrwheels and on :the'side of the 'axes opposite from the first named'wheel, ;a member connected with'one offthe lugs; a member connected with the other lug, Ia spring interconnecting said membersto yieldably restrain movement of. said movably mounted; tension wheel from the other-tension wheel, stop means for limitingmaximum move"- ment. of said movably mounted tensionvwheel, andaindicating means" for indicating relative movement of said! movably mounted tension wheel'responsive torp'u'll of the line when the lineis tensioned over-adjacent faces ofttheitenision'whee-ls and around the first named wheel.

5". An. apparatus for measuring the loadon' a line of the character'described'including, avframe having'triangularly-diverging1egs,1a wheel having fixed rotational support at the apex of the -di'- vergingdeg-s; line tension'wheels carried by terminal ends of said legs and. arranged in substantial radiahsymmetry with respect to the first named wheel, one of said legs having a; pivotal joint whereby the tension Wheel carried by said legis adapted to move to and from the wheel'on the other leg,"the'pivota1 axis of said 'joi'ntbeing positioned near'the perimeters of theffirst named wheel' and the movable tension wheel, means yi'eldably connecting the terminals of "saidlegs to'yieldably restrainmovement of'said movably mounted tensionwheel from the other tension wheel, a lever connected with said jointe'd leg, a pointer pivoted on the other leg and connected withsaid lever for movement therewith, and a scale cooperating with said pointer and indicat ing relative movement of'said movably mounted v 

